I read this Somewhere, Long Ago and I thought it was funny at th time. Looking at it now, maybe it isn’t that funny when you think about it!

One Day an old Man came into A sleazy bar and sat down, by chance near the pool tables. There were four young men who looked like they are in their twenties, and they were shooting pool and making a lot of noise. They were wearing the customary leather motorcycle club jackets and they were obviously very drunk.

The bartender came over to the old man and told him; Sir, these boys are trouble-makers and I recommend that you move down to the other end of the bar.The old man looked over at the drunker men, and then he turned back to the bartender and said; Thank You young man, but I’m comfortable right here. The bartender just shook his head and walked away, leaving the old man to whatever Fate had in store for him.

But, as luck would have it, one of the drunken men saw the bartender talking to the old man and after whispering to his buddies, they all dropped their pool cues on the table and then they walked over and surrounded the old man.

The shortest one said; So old man, you and the bartender got a problem with us shooting pool and enjoying a few beers? 

With this, he reached over and flipped the hat on the old man’s head, off and across the bar. The old man slowly turned to look into the eyes of the young punk and as he did so, the punk opened his jacket showing off a very large Bowie style knife holstered on his waist.

A this point the punk sneered at the old man and told him; In fact, I think I’ll just cut your old ass up a little, just for entertainment. The old man kept his eyes locked on those of the young punk as he reached down and gripped the handle of the knife.

At the same time, the old man reached into is jacket and pulled out a sweet little nine millimeter pistol and laid it onto the bar next to his beer. Then he smiled at the surprised punk. The punk started to pull his knie when one of his buddies reached over and stopped him. Then this second biker turned to the old man and asked him;

Are you crazy? My buddy here is ready to cut you up. And I can guarantee you one thing, If I let go of his arm, he’ll mess you up real bad. The old man glanced into the mirror behind the bar and saw that all four of the bikers were smiling to each other, but he just reached for his beer and took a long draft of it.

He saw that the bartender was holding a baseball bat and trying to sneak down the bar to where they were all standing. The silence grew longer and the older biker asked the old man;

Aren’t you scared that we will kill you where you sit?

The old man looked at the four punks as they waited for him to cower in fear and beg for his life. INstead he slowly laid his hand on the grip of his pistol and told the three punks; Well boys, I am 79 years old, and a life sentence for killing you four is not nearly as scary to me as it should be for any of you that survive what is about to happen.

When he finished talking, the smiles fell from the four punks lips and all of their eyes went to the pistol lying next to the half finished beer. Two of them took a couple of steps back and away from the old man. The one with the knife had a look on his face that said he was just a blowhard, and the third man?

Well, he slowly let go of the other punks arm, and talking loudly, to no one in particular, he said with a nervous tick in his voice; OK Boys, were late, so let’s give this gentleman some roon to enjoy his beer.

As they walked towards the door, one of the punks yelled back to the old man; Army?

The old man never took his eyes off of the mirror and responded; No, Marines!

The four punks picked up their pace and were quickly gone from the bar. The old man put his pistol away inside his jacket, and took a long sip of his beer, while the bartender walked over and drew another draft for the old man.

He set the beer down in form of him and asked the old man; Dude, How did you know they would back off like that?

The old man smiled at the bartender and said; Punks like those usually run in packs and generally speaking if you show them your teeth they will back off. The bartender laughed and said; Yeah, but what if they still come at you?

The old man started on his second beer and laughed out loud saying; I wasn’t lying; I’m 79 years old, I have lung cancer, and I’m really not worried about any kind of prison sentence the justice system may give me.

The Moral Here?

FEAR RIDES ON TOP OF HOPE!

So, NEVER MESS WITH A MAN WITHOUT HOPE!